The biggest thing we did was implement paperless pre-bills. Within a matter of months, our bill speed went from 90 days to 75 days.
It represented a new, proactive approach rather than a reactive one. Everyone was very skeptical at the beginning, but that has changed – we now have roughly 15,000 pre-bills per month. To drive that adoption, it took strong communication and time on the ground discussing pain points.
That lawyers don’t need to understand the business of law. Especially young lawyers need to understand what it means to bring in a client, to bring in business, and to be profitable. We are not a non-profit organization. We are here to make money and service our clients.
At the end of the day, not everything will be profitable. But we need to educate our attorneys because if we don’t make money, we can’t pay people.
They have to understand the big picture. They don’t need to understand the nuance of an e-billing platform, attachments, or approvals. But they need to know how we make a dollar.
In one word, fiduciary. But what I mean is the financial conscience of the firm. I try to figure out how a dollar is spent. It’s not if we can afford to do it, it’s whether we can afford not to do it.
As simple as buying a meal for someone who is working through lunch that day, because we’re behind. Or investing in some piece of software that costs six figures over three years because it’s going to make our lives better. What really impacts the bottom line, and how long before I get my money back?
I use that approach even for my own role. For however much I’m compensated, how can I bring that revenue back to the firm? Even if you’re the ‘bean counter’ or ‘scorekeeper,’ how can you generate money for the firm?
There are three kinds of employees: assets, liabilities, and owners. If you’re not an owner, you need to be an asset. Tell me how you can bring in revenue, because you don’t want to be the other one.
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